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Under Construction
1. Regeneration, or the New Birth of the spirit of the human being, occurs when a
person hears the good news that Jesus, the Christ, died and paid the penalty for his sins;
believes in his spirit, sometimes called the heart; and receives, accepts or invites Jesus
personally as his Savior.
By regeneration we are admitted into the kingdom of God. There is no other way of
salvation other than trusting Christ and being spiritually "born again" from above. This is
the door of entrance into eternal life and Christian discipleship. Jesus said " I am the
Way... No one comes except by Me!"
Too often, other things are substituted by man in the place of God’s appointed means of
salvation. But they don't work! They are traps set to keep us in rebellion against God.
So, let's look at them:
Regeneration is not reformation! New birth is not a natural forward step in man’s
development! It is a supernatural act of God. It is a supernatural crisis! It is not
evolution, but involution—the communication of a new life. It is a revolution—a change of
direction resulting from that life. Herein lies the danger in psychology, and in the statistics
regarding the number of conversions during the period of adolescence. The danger lies in
the tendency to make regeneration a natural phenomenon, an advanced step in the
development of a human life, instead of regarding it as a crisis. Such a psychological view
of regeneration denies man’s sin, his need of Christ, the necessity of an atonement, and
the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit.
Regeneration is not Water Baptism! Water baptism is a physical act used to proclaim
the spiritual fact of our new birth; but it is not itself the new birth! The water is just a figure
of the cleansing power of the Word of God which quickens our spirit.
Regeneration is a Spiritual Quickening, a New Birth, the impartation of a new and
divine life; a new creation; the production of a new thing. It is Gen. 1:26 over again. It is not
the old nature altered, reformed, or re-invigorated, but a new birth from above. This is the
teaching of such passages as John 3:3-7; 5:21; Ephesians 2:1, 10; 2 Corinthians 5:17.
By nature man is dead in sin (Ephesians 2:1); the new birth imparts to him new life—the
life of God, so that henceforth he is as those that are alive from the dead; he has passed
out of death into life (John 5:24).
It Is the Impartation of a New Nature—God’s Nature. In regeneration we are made
partakers of the divine nature (2 Peter 1:4). We have put on the new man, which after God
is created in holiness and righteousness (Ephesians 4:24; Colossians 3:10). Christ now
lives in the believer (Galatians 2:20). God’s seed now abides in him (1 John 3:9). So
that henceforth the believer is possessed of two natures (Galatians 5:17).
A New and Divine Impulse is Given to the Believer.
Thus regeneration is a crisis with a view to a process. A new governing power comes into
the regenerate man’s life by which he is enabled to become holy in experience: “Old
things are passed away; behold all things are become new” (2 Cor. 5:17). See also Acts
16:14, and Ezek. 36:25-27; 1 John 3:6-9.
1. Regeneration, or the New Birth of the spirit of the human being, occurs when a
person hears the good news that Jesus, the Christ, died and paid the penalty for his sins;
believes in his spirit, sometimes called the heart; and receives, accepts or invites Jesus
personally as his Savior.
By regeneration we are admitted into the kingdom of God. There is no other way of
salvation other than trusting Christ and being spiritually "born again" from above. This is
the door of entrance into eternal life and Christian discipleship. Jesus said " I am the
Way... No one comes except by Me!"
Too often, other things are substituted by man in the place of God’s appointed means of
salvation. But they don't work! They are traps set to keep us in rebellion against God.
So, let's look at them:
Regeneration is not reformation! New birth is not a natural forward step in man’s
development! It is a supernatural act of God. It is a supernatural crisis! It is not
evolution, but involution—the communication of a new life. It is a revolution—a change of
direction resulting from that life. Herein lies the danger in psychology, and in the statistics
regarding the number of conversions during the period of adolescence. The danger lies in
the tendency to make regeneration a natural phenomenon, an advanced step in the
development of a human life, instead of regarding it as a crisis. Such a psychological view
of regeneration denies man’s sin, his need of Christ, the necessity of an atonement, and
the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit.
Regeneration is not Water Baptism! Water baptism is a physical act used to proclaim
the spiritual fact of our new birth; but it is not itself the new birth! The water is just a figure
of the cleansing power of the Word of God which quickens our spirit.
Regeneration is a Spiritual Quickening, a New Birth, the impartation of a new and
divine life; a new creation; the production of a new thing. It is Gen. 1:26 over again. It is not
the old nature altered, reformed, or re-invigorated, but a new birth from above. This is the
teaching of such passages as John 3:3-7; 5:21; Ephesians 2:1, 10; 2 Corinthians 5:17.
By nature man is dead in sin (Ephesians 2:1); the new birth imparts to him new life—the
life of God, so that henceforth he is as those that are alive from the dead; he has passed
out of death into life (John 5:24).
It Is the Impartation of a New Nature—God’s Nature. In regeneration we are made
partakers of the divine nature (2 Peter 1:4). We have put on the new man, which after God
is created in holiness and righteousness (Ephesians 4:24; Colossians 3:10). Christ now
lives in the believer (Galatians 2:20). God’s seed now abides in him (1 John 3:9). So
that henceforth the believer is possessed of two natures (Galatians 5:17).
A New and Divine Impulse is Given to the Believer.
Thus regeneration is a crisis with a view to a process. A new governing power comes into
the regenerate man’s life by which he is enabled to become holy in experience: “Old
things are passed away; behold all things are become new” (2 Cor. 5:17). See also Acts
16:14, and Ezek. 36:25-27; 1 John 3:6-9.
Topical Bible Study 1
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